Mixed in 1980

Chapter 515 Infrastructure
There are many interviews with writers, and even more with entrepreneurs, but I've never seen one like this.

The viewers in the live stream felt something was off.

Compared to other writers and entrepreneurs I've read, Chen Fan hardly exhibits any of the characteristics of such people; in fact, he seems a bit like a rogue.

To be honest, he's really mean.

But as Zeng Ali said: A person's reputation shouldn't be too good, but a bad reputation can also be very useful, as it can solve a lot of troubles.

The same is true.

It also introduced the audience to Zeng Ali, the founder of luxury brands such as Lululemon, Fanli, Qiuli, and Liyuan, who is quite formidable.

Offering a toast to a leader is like visiting a grave; picking up a brick and smashing it on the back of someone's head—not to mention women, very few men would dare to do that; he's more manly than any real man.

Ni Ping and Xiao Sa were quite surprised. This family was indeed different. They didn't even pretend, which showed their confidence.

Many people, when interviewed, seem eager to slap a bunch of wonderful and high-class labels on themselves, as if afraid that others will not like them.

There's no such thing as a specific style.

Xiao Sa took the lead in livening up the atmosphere. After making a few jokes, she turned the topic to Xu Jinqiu: "If you were to label Teacher Xu, what labels would you use?"

"So cunning!" Zeng Ali said disdainfully.

"I love eating melons," Zhao Yuanyuan added.

Chen Fan teased, "You're so cheeky!"

Ni Ping narrowed her eyes: "Why is there no kindness? Don't you know how highly society regards Teacher Xu?"

Xu Jinqiu said, "That's right!"

Zeng Ali said disdainfully, "Which label is wrong about you? Is it wrong to say you're scheming? You've never been honest since you were a child."

"Look at her, doesn't she look delicate and frail? When she grew up, she was so pitiful that I felt sorry for her. When she was little, she looked easy to bully."

"I was bullied a lot from elementary school to junior high school."

“Every time she was bullied, she would stir up trouble everywhere, dragging in unrelated people and causing a group fight. There was a group fight almost every month.”

"It's gloomy."

"That's why everyone says that she and Chen Fan are a match made in heaven, one is cunning and the other is ruthless, one is a murderer and the other is an arsonist."

"Teacher Xu, is that really true?" Xiao Sa asked in surprise.

Xu Jinqiu awkwardly touched her nose: "That's called self-protection. If you can't beat someone, you have to find a way to win. Just because I look easy to bully doesn't mean I deserve to be bullied, right?"

"makes sense."

Xiao Sa nodded in agreement and looked at Zhao Yuanyuan: "Teacher Zhao, you said Teacher Xu likes to eat melons?"

Zhao Yuanyuan curled her lips and teased, "It's still the same now. She always carries a handful of sunflower seeds in her pocket when she goes out for a walk, and she goes over to join in whenever she sees people arguing."

"It's just bad luck to run into her."

"As long as the sunflower seeds in her pocket haven't been finished and the argument seems to be stopping, she'll stir things up from both sides until she finishes the sunflower seeds."

"The most interesting ones are Huang He's parents."

“After apologizing to me at the time, he was still not satisfied and came to threaten me again. Chen Fan was quite cunning, so he sent someone to investigate.”

"You won't know until you check, and what you find out is shocking."

"Huang He's parents were very promiscuous, each having several lovers. Chen Fan gathered the husbands and wives of those women together and went to their workplace to cause trouble."

"As soon as Teacher Xu heard there was some juicy gossip to be had, he filled a bag with melon seeds and rushed over."

"Seeing Huang He's parents being beaten, Teacher Xu, still not satisfied with the gossip, shouted, 'Strip them naked and parade them through the streets.'"

"Upon hearing this, the crowd actually did it."

"A short while later, the police arrived to stop it. Teacher Xu kept complaining that the police came so quickly and that she shouldn't have arranged for someone to call the police."

puff...

Recalling the scene from back then, everyone couldn't help but laugh. Ni Ping and Xiao Sa couldn't hold back either. Who would have thought that the most popular philanthropist was actually just a gossipmonger?

Xu Jinqiu coughed lightly: "In modern terms, how do you say it again? Eating melons is like telling me your unhappy things so I can have a good laugh. Isn't that great?"

"It's pretty good."

Xiao Sa suppressed a laugh and looked at Chen Fan: "Teacher Chen, what do you mean by 'cheeky'?"

Chen Fan shrugged: "Does this need explaining?"

After a slight pause, she added, "Every year when she goes out on field trips, a group of children are snatched up by her. Ask those children."

Upon hearing this, the live stream chat was flooded with the two words: "Agreed!"

They've all been robbed.

Today I truly got to know Xu Jinqiu. She loves gossip, is cunning, and mischievous. This kind of Teacher Xu is undoubtedly vibrant and adorable.

After the jokes, the topic shifted to Zeng Ali.

Xu Jinqiu and Zhao Yuanyuan both gave her the same label, just two words: "older sister!"

“She has taken care of both of us since we were little.”

“When I was a child, I was bullied. Whenever my older sister found out, she would fight with the bullies. From elementary school to junior high school, I often saw her chasing after a group of boys and beating them up.”

“I went to Dali with Yuanyuan to work in the countryside.”

“My older sister would travel a long way to visit us and would send us food and supplies almost every month, worried that we would suffer in the countryside.”

“When I heard that educated youth could return to the city, my older sister went around using her connections to arrange jobs for us and bring us back from Dali.”

After Xu Jinqiu finished speaking, Zhao Yuanyuan added, "When I was in the dance troupe or went on business trips to Hong Kong, I never lifted a finger to pack my luggage or do anything else. My older sister always helped me pack."

"Just be a useless little thing by her side."

Unlike the other two, Chen Fan bluntly labeled Zeng Ali as "violent!"

"When you don't know her well, you'll find her to be very difficult to get along with. She's very cold in public, and many people in the company secretly call her the Iceberg President."

"Once you get to know someone, it becomes harder to get along with them."

"If you're not happy, I'll either punch you or kick you."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zeng Ali slapped her husband: "Stop acting up. Don't you realize how wicked you are? Every time I beat you, it was without reason."

Then, facing the camera, she said, "Once, after get off work, I waited for him at the gate of Peking University. My legs went numb from squatting. Do you know how he did it?"

“Help me up, then pull me up and jump.”

"You can still jump when your legs are numb? That kind of numbness goes straight from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. I'll remember it for the rest of my life. I've never seen anything so cruel."

The viewers of the live stream were stunned.

What does it feel like to have numb legs? Just standing up from a squatting position is enough to make you feel sore and uncomfortable. If you were to pat your legs lightly, it would feel like an electric shock.

Chen Fan actually dragged someone to jump? That's inhuman!

As the conversation continued, the topic shifted to Zhao Yuanyuan, whose most obvious label was: lazy!
When talking about her laziness, Xu Jinqiu complained with disdain: "If I can lie down, I won't sit; if I can sit, I won't stand. That's just how I am."

"When I go on business trips, I have to have someone else prepare my things; when I go to the countryside to work, I have to wash my clothes; even now, when I wake up in the morning, my hair is a mess and I have to do nothing to comb it."

"My biggest dream in life is to be a rich but useless person."

"Really?" Ni Ping asked in surprise.

Zhao Yuanyuan is not young, but she looks very refined. Time seems to have left few marks on her, except for faint crow's feet at the corners of her eyes.

How could someone like that be lazy?

Seemingly sensing her doubt, Zeng Ali said directly, "Don't be fooled by her exquisite attire. I did her hair, I did her makeup, and Teacher Xu chose her clothes."

"She's all about sweet talk. She can charm everyone, not just us, but the kids too."

“She often gets up in the morning with messy hair, and the kids will help her fix it and prepare breakfast for her, making her feel like a little useless person.”

"Now they're starting to pamper their grandchildren again."

"That's skill!" Zhao Yuanyuan was not ashamed at all, and raised her eyebrows smugly. When it comes to comfort, no one in the world can compare to her.

Zeng Ali curled her lip in disgust, but couldn't refute it.

After the introduction of the person in question came to an end, Ni Ping brought the topic back to the main point: "Professor Xu's foundation has invested an unprecedented amount of money."

"Such a huge investment requires extremely large financial support, which is what everyone is most curious about, and there has been a lot of speculation from the outside world."

"We've learned some things from the information we've gathered."

"Teacher Chen, you are from Beijing, but you made your fortune in Hong Kong. In the early 1980s, it was not easy to go to Hong Kong. How did you get there and make your fortune?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan pondered for a moment.

"Going to Hong Kong was probably an accident."

“When I returned from working in the countryside, my sister’s family was not doing well at her husband’s house, so I brought them back to live with me. Since there was no room at home, I rented a house from someone else.”

"Li Hongbing, Brother Bing's house."

“His family went to Hong Kong in the 60s for special reasons, but he was the only one left behind. He lived a very difficult life and made a living by pedaling a tricycle.”

"Back then, people used to call him 'Master Ban'er,' and many even jokingly called him 'Camel Xiangzi.' In the tenement, you can imagine his status. He was over thirty and still a bachelor."

"Later, with my encouragement, he started a stall to make a living using his family's pickled vegetable skills, which changed his life and he even found a wife in the countryside."

"Their team training is very interesting."

"A debt of gratitude must be repaid!"

"Later, his family came back from Hong Kong to find him. They thought I had helped Brother Bingzi and wanted to repay me, so they invited me to go to Hong Kong with Teacher Xu."

“My fourth brother uploaded a video where he forced the British guy to sign a contract. The woman in the video, Sister Ying, is Brother Bing’s older sister, named Li Hongying.”

"After we got there, Sister Ying always took care of us."

"To be honest, I was lucky. I sold the script there and wrote a few advertisements for others, earning several hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars."

"Use all this money to buy gold futures."

"Later, I opened another publishing house, Fanchen Publishing House. I borrowed the money from Sister Ying. Anyway, I used the money I made to buy gold futures."

"Back then, buying gold futures was simple; just keep an eye on the Federal Reserve. When the Fed cut interest rates, gold prices rose; when the Fed raised interest rates, gold prices fell."

"The increases are still quite large."

“From 1980 to 1984, the funds I had increased from several hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars to more than two billion US dollars, which is more than 160 billion Hong Kong dollars.”

“At that time in Hong Kong, I was not the richest man, but I was definitely the one with the most cash.”

Upon hearing this, Ni Ping, Xiao Sa, and the viewers in the live stream couldn't help but marvel at the astonishing figure of HK$160 billion achieved in just four years, starting from scratch.

After a while, Ni Ping calmed down and asked again, "After making money in the financial market, you started to switch to real industry?"

“Your fourth daughter mentioned in a lecture that she had a conflict with the British because of Kwai Chung Port and they took over a large number of businesses in Hong Kong that were vital to people’s livelihoods.”

"That's one way to understand it," Chen Fan nodded.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "I actually started investing in real businesses even earlier. Not counting publishing houses, the first company I invested in was actually Hi-Home Appliances."

"You invested in HiLe?" Xiao Sa asked in surprise.

The owner of Hi-Joy, Gu Haiyang, is a prominent figure who has appeared on many TV programs, including his talk show "Open Lecture," but I've never heard of him.

"Speaking of having fun, that's interesting."

Xu Jinqiu chuckled: "Sometimes I'm really curious. The friendship between men is really strange. Didn't I just say that Lao Gu got to know us because of selling houses?"

"After selling the house, Lao Gu went to Guangzhou."

"Chen Fan wanted to find out about the situation in Guangzhou's reform and opening up, so he kept in touch with Lao Gu by letter. Later, they even went into business together, dealing in unplanned television sets."

"Later, Chen Fan invited Lao Gu to build a television factory together, and Ying Jie also invested in it. Together they went to Hong Kong to acquire a television production line."

"At that time, we encountered a competitor. A key account manager from HSBC, accompanied by two British men, wanted to acquire us at a lower price and even threatened Chen Fan."

"HSBC has a lot of influence in Hong Kong."

"Back then, many people would give HSBC face. If you really offended HSBC, you would have a very difficult time, after all, HSBC was backed by British capital."

"Chen Fan didn't tolerate it."

“They called Yingjie’s bodyguard over and dragged that big account manager out into the hallway. They beat him for ten minutes straight, without missing a single second.”

"That's how we drove out the British, and that's how HiLe was able to have its first television production line."

Ni Ping and Xiao Sa were both dumbfounded.

Taking someone out and beating them for ten minutes? Was this a business negotiation or thuggery? Even the people in the live stream couldn't understand it. Was Hong Kong really this chaotic back then?

Chen Fan also offered an explanation: "At the time, I was a major client of HSBC, as was Sister Ying's family. The major client manager threatened the major client, saying that even if they were hit, it would be for nothing, and HSBC would have to apologize afterwards."

"Besides entertainment, there are many other investments as well."

"Initially, we invited Lao Hu, Hu Yingxiang, and Sister Ying to invest in the Guangzhou-Zhuhai, Guangzhou-Shenzhen, and Beijing-Tianjin expressways in mainland China."

"Yangtze River Shipbuilding, Yangtze River Ethylene Project".

"After acquiring Kuiyong Port, it set its sights on the port business and invested in six major ports: Yantian Port, Modu Port, Jinmen Port, Ningbo Port, Lianyun Port, and Huizhou Port."

"And there's the Ertan Hydropower Station."

At this point, Zeng Ali added, "At that time, everyone was making great efforts to attract foreign investment, and his investment alone was equivalent to all the other foreign investment combined."

"Moreover, all the investments are in infrastructure projects."

"The biggest characteristic of infrastructure projects is that they have long investment cycles and slow returns. It usually takes decades to break even, and at that time, many projects did not show any returns."

"For example, highways, let alone making money, lost money every year for the first ten years; and ports and shipbuilding, also lost money for the first twenty years."

"These are completely contrary to his investment philosophy."

“When he was abroad, he always made quick money. In mainland China, he liked to invest in infrastructure. In 1998, he went crazy and spent 7000 billion yuan on infrastructure.”

"Of the 7000 billion yuan, 4800 billion yuan was direct investment, and the remaining 2200 billion yuan was low-interest loans to the government, all of which were used to build the canal."

"There are six canals in total: the Gan-Yue Canal, the Xiang-Gui Canal, the Pinglu Canal, the Jing-Han Canal, the Zhe-Gan-Yue Canal, and the Central Plains Inland Water Network."

"Many of these canals are still operating at a loss."

"Wait a minute, you invested in these six canals?" Ni Ping's eyes widened.

When these six canals were first dug, there was a lot of opposition and criticism, but given the economic situation at the time, it was actually unnecessary.

Money should be spent wisely.

At the time, there were many more projects that urgently needed funding, and spending 7000 billion yuan on the canal, which was "not very useful," seemed like a waste.

Of course, it smells delicious now.

The cities around the canal benefited greatly, but the canal was not built with government funding, so how did it become privately funded?

Those watching the live stream were also completely bewildered.

"He silenced them, preventing them from spreading the word."

Zeng Ali rolled her eyes at her husband and continued, "He likes to do infrastructure projects in mainland China, but the returns are generally not high. I asked him about it back then, do you know what he said?"

(End of this chapter)